Categories
Dessert Uncategorized

Chocolate Buttermilk Bundt Cake – Reduced Guilt

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image

This rich, chocolate cake is actually derived from a Weight Watchers recipe that takes advantage of low-fat buttermilk, egg whites, and dark chocolate to produce deep flavor with reduced fat. My problem with reduced-guilt dishes like this one is that it’s difficult for me to exert portion control, and the slight decrease in fat and calories is usually overcome by my propensity for eating the whole thing. Oh well. This moist, flavorful cake (without frosting, no less), was a delight.

Chocolate Buttermilk Bundt Cake - Reduced Guilt
 
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Enjoy rich, flavorful chocolate cake without the guilt.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1¼ cups sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa - I used Hershey's
  • 1.5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped - I used Scharffen Berger 70%
  • ½ cup boiling water
  • 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
  • ⅓ cup canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup mini chocolate chips - I used Nestlé Semi-Sweet Chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325˚ F. Spray a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In a small, heat-proof bowl, mix cocoa and chopped chocolate. Pour boiling water over the cocoa mixture, stirring until chocolate is completely melted.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, egg, egg white, and vanilla extract. Then stir in (slightly cooled) cocoa mixture. Finally, add the flour mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until just mixed. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate and carefully lift off the pan. Let cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar (through a fine-mesh sieve).

chocobundt_instagram copy

 

Categories
Dessert Produce

Plum Upside-Down Cake

Plum Upside-Down Cake
Plum Upside-Down Cake

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As summer draws to a close, it’s time to pause one last time and acknowledge the plum. All summer long, they have been a staple in my weekly CSA box and I have been thinking I must make an upside-down cake.

This one is particularly easy. I made it before work this morning while also packing lunches and preparing breakfast for my two kids. Slice the fruit and mix the batter. That was about it.

The great news is the cake come out light and fluffy and the plums work their own magic so the end result is delicious.  I’ve added twice the normal amount of vanilla in this recipe which made the flavor of the cake really pop.

Arrange slices in a circle
Arrange slices in a circle
Plum Upside-Down Cake
 
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Easy and quick to make, the presentation is elegant enough for guest.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
  • 7 Tablespoons butter, divided
  • ⅔ cup sugar, divided
  • 4 plums, thinly sliced - choose plums that are not overly ripe
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
  2. Place one tablespoon of butter in a circular pie pan and melt in the oven for a couple of minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, cream the butter with the remaining sugar. Add the egg and beat until smooth.
  4. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle ⅓ cup of sugar evenly around the bottom.
  5. Arrange the plum slices in neat, concentric circles on top of the butter/sugar.
  6. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
  7. Add the dry ingredients to the cream mixture in batches, alternating with the milk until mixed thoroughly.
  8. Add in the vanilla and mix until batter is smooth. If the batter is too thick, mix in another tablespoon of milk.
  9. Spread the batter evenly on top of the plums, working it all the way out to the edge of the pan.
  10. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. A knife inserted in the cake should come out clean.
  11. Remove from the oven and invert onto a plate immediately.
  12. Serve warm.
Categories
Dessert

Roy’s Classic Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé

Roy's Molten Chocolate Cake
Roy's Molten Chocolate Cake

[pinterest]

I have a soft spot for Roy’s. I celebrated my first wedding anniversary there (in San Francisco) as a way to commemorate our wedding in Hawaii. I went again recently because my office was across the street for a couple of years. I don’t particularly associate chocolate with Roy’s because it’s a Hawaiian fusion restaurant. It’s their Ahi Poke I crave most. But I’m a sucker for molten chocolate cake, so I was thrilled to find that they make their recipe available publicly and that I could make it at home. Rather than making them in rings, I used ramekins. That way I didn’t have to worry about lifting off the ring at the end. If you don’t have the patience to let it refrigerate overnight, refrigerate it for a few hours and let me know how it turns out!

Roy's Classic Melting Hot Chocolate Soufflé
 
Roy's famous molten chocolate cake has only 5 ingredients.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Classic
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp. cornstarch
  • 4 eggs plus 4 egg yolks
  • 12 tbsp. butter
  • 8 oz. semisweet dark chocolate (make sure to use a good quality)
Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. In a separate bowl, mix eggs and yolks together. In a saucepan, bring butter to a simmer, then add the chocolate. Mix until the chocolate is smooth and begins to simmer along the edges. Combine this chocolate mixture with the sugar and cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Add eggs and mix at low speed until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth. Refrigerate overnight in a bowl.
  2. Preheat oven to 375º. Line 4 metal soufflé rings with parchment paper and coat with non-stick spray. On a baking sheet, place each ring on a square of parchment paper. Fill ⅔ of each ring with the filling. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet. While holding each mold with tongs, slide a metal spatula underneath and transfer to a plate. Gently lift the mold off, remove the paper and serve with ice cream.
Categories
Breads Breakfast/Brunch Dessert Pumpkin Uncategorized

Pumpkin Coffee Cake Wreath with Pumpkin-Spiced Cream Cheese Filling

[pinterest]

Pumpkin Coffee Cake Wreath
Pumpkin Coffee Cake Wreath

I have been having so much fun baking with yeast this month. Today is no exception. I decided I wanted to make a coffee cake type pastry with icing and filling that would feature fall pumpkin flavors. I grew up with Entenmann’s pastries from the grocery store, and I was looking to emulate their various Danish rings with this recipe.

I ended up constructing this wreath in two ways. One way was a traditional circle. For the other, I cut little slits all the way around before baking it, and the wring came out a little more decorative – though less tidy. Totally up to you for how to make yours, but the recipe does make 2 loaves, so play with it!

Pumpkin Wreath without Slits
Pumpkin WreathWithout Slits
Pumpkin Wreath
Pumpkin Wreath Sliced Open

The recipe calls for 2 rises. One for the dough and then another one once the dough is stuffed. If you want to refrigerate your dough after stuffing it, you can refrigerate it overnight, then pull it out, let it come to room temperature, rise and then bake it so it comes out of the oven warm just in time for brunch.

I kept this dish nut free because of allergy concerns, but sliced almonds or pecans are a great addition to the topping.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

5.0 from 2 reviews
Pumpkin Coffee Cake Wreath with Pumpkin-Spiced Cream Cheese Filling
 
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Fall pumpkin flavors infuse this danish ring with yumminess
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert, Brunch Pastry
Serves: 20
Ingredients
  • 1 package dry yeast (2¼ tsp)
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • 3½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cups canned pure pumpkin
  • ½ cup milk
  • ¼ cup butter, melted
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1¼ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ---
  • 2 8oz packages cream cheese
  • ½ cup canned pure pumpkin
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 Tbsp butter softened
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ---
  • 1 Tbsp butter, melted
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ---
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 Tbsp milk
  • ¼ tsp vanilla
Instructions
  1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water in a mug and cover with a plate. Set aside for 5 minutes. When you lift the plate, it should be foamy. If it's not foamy, it means that the yeast is no longer active and you'll have to start over with new yeast.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the dough hook, combine 3 cups of the flour, the pumpkin, milk, melted butter, sugar, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and cloves. Once it has taken on a crumbly texture, add the water and yeast mixture and continue mixing with the dough hook until a ball forms. Scrape the sides as necessary to ensure complete mixing. If the dough is sticky and not well-formed, add a Tbsp or so of flour and continue kneading with the dough hook. Knead for 3 minutes on medium speed, adding flour to ensure a springy, well-formed ball.
  3. Add a tsp of oil to the bowl and knead for 30 seconds. Remove bowl and cover with towel. Set in a warm place and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour until doubled.
  4. After the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured cutting board. Let rest for 5 minutes, then cut in half.
  5. To prepare the filling, go back to your stand mixer (wash that bowl), but this time you will use the wire whisk to beat at high speed, the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Beat for 2 minutes until fluffy.
  6. Now roll out one ball of dough into a flat rectangle that is about 10x12 inches in size. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the dough leaving space around the edges. The cream cheese will be about ¼ inch thick. Now roll the long side of the dough up to make a tube. Bend the tube into a circle and press the ends together firmly. If you'd like to try cutting slits in the wreath, go ahead and do so. Repeat with the other ball of dough. You will have left over cream cheese mixture. It can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and used as icing on cupcakes.
  7. Transfer the rings to a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Cover with a cloth and set in a warm place. Allow them to rise for 45 minutes. (Alternatively, you could cover them in plastic and refrigerate them over night before allowing them to come to room temperature and to rise the next morning)
  8. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
  9. Using a spoon, spread melted butter over the tops of both rings. Use the back of the spoon to coat them evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of each ring. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to platters.
  10. Once the rings are cooled, make the icing by stirring together the sugar, milk and vanilla in a bowl with a fork or a wire whisk. If the icing is not going to hold the shape of its drizzle, add more sugar to thicken. Drizzle onto the rings and allow the icing to set for 5-10 minutes before serving.

 

Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Categories
Dessert Pumpkin Uncategorized

Hazelnut Pumpkin Bars

Hazelnut Pumpkin Bars
Hazelnut Pumpkin Bars

It’s the 4th anniversary of StreamingGourmet today! Celebrate by watching some classic pumpkin and Halloween videos in StreamingGourmet’s video collections.

It’s time for another pumpkin blogging binge at StreamingGourmet. You see, I’m a little pumpkin obsessed and even more, Halloween obsessed, so this won’t be the first time I publish a slew of pumpkin recipes in October. There’s always something new to try with pumpkin, so check back often over the next few weeks for pumpkin recipes that are sweet, savory and everything in between.

This time, I’m starting with pumpkin bars. There is a pumpkin bar recipe that has truly made the internet rounds, usually with pecans. I’ve done some tweaking here to make these my own, including swapping in hazelnuts for pecans. You might also like them with a dolup of whipped cream on top or perhaps with a serving of ice cream. The trick to getting these right is to make sure you give the bars time to set before sprinkling the nut mixture on top. Otherwise, the nuts will just sink to the bottom.

In this recipe, you’ll need to chop hazelnuts. I found my little mini-prep Cuisinart to be a champ. Click through to find it on Amazon:

 

Hazelnut Pumpkin Bars
 
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It's like pumpkin pie in a bar.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 18-21
Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup old-fashioned oats
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 (15 oz.) cans Pure Pumpkin
  • 2 (12 oz.) cans Evaporated Milk
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup hazelnuts, chopped
  • ¼ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp butter, softened
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
  2. Combine flour, oats, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter and mix until crumbly. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes.
  4. In the bowl of a standup mixer, beat together the granulated sugar, pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs and spices. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes until frothy. Pour over crust.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes. While the bars are baking, toast the hazelnuts in a dry sauté pan over medium heat until they start to turn dark brown. Toss them around to ensure they are toasted on all sides. Chop hazelnuts in a small food processor. Combine chopped hazelnuts and brown sugar in small bowl. Cut in the butter and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle hazelnut topping over filling. Continue baking for 15 to 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Hazelnut Pumpkin Bars
Hazelnut Pumpkin Bars
Starbucks
Categories
Dessert Uncategorized

Black Cherry Chocolate Parfait

Black Cherry Chocolate Parfait

It’s National Chocolate Parfait Day, so I was inspired to run to the grocery store and whip up a parfait. My goal was to make some delicious and fast. So I opted for instant pudding today, but when I have more time, I’ll go for the home-made version. I did make my own whipped cream, because although most people don’t realize it, making real whipped cream is just about as fast as pulling the canned stuff out of the fridge.

I do have this great tool that enables me to whip with little effort and no noise. It’s a rotary egg beater and they have them on Amazon:

I used the rotary egg beater to whip up the instant pudding and during the 2 minutes that was chilling in the refrigerator I used it to whip up the whipped cream. Done and done.

Now for the layering. I love the flavors of chocolate and cherry together, so I used this lovely Black Cherry jam as one of the layers. It’s difficult to see in the photograph, but it’s lodged between the chocolate pudding and the whipped cream. It’s also available on Amazon if you can’t find it in your local grocery store:

5.0 from 1 reviews
Black Cherry Chocolate Parfait
 
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Chocolate pudding, cherry jam and real whipped cream come together for a National Chocolate Parfait Day treat.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 package Jell-O instant chocolate pudding
  • 2 cups milk (I use 2%)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 Tbsp confectioner's sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 6 Tbsp Black Cherry Jam
Instructions
  1. Using a rotary egg beater (or a whisk), beat the instant pudding mix and milk together for 2 minutes. Let chill and set in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.
  2. While the pudding is setting, use a rotary egg beater to beat together the cream, sugar and vanilla. It takes about 3-4 minutes to get nice peaks to form.
  3. Spoon pudding into the bottom of a champagne flute or other tall, narrow glass. Wipe rim with a paper towel to remove chocolate smudges. Spoon in a tablespoon of the jam into each flute, then top with whipped cream and garnish with a chocolate chip or a cherry or anything you like!
  4. Either eat immediately or chill for later.
Categories
Dessert Pumpkin Uncategorized

Pumpkin Cardamom Crackle Custard

Pumpkin Cardamom Custard Crackle
Pumpkin Cardamom Custard Crackle

Day 2 of 31 days of pumpkin and we come to a custardy pumpkin crème brulée with a hint of cardamom. I love making desserts that come in individual servings. Maybe that’s because I hate sharing. This way, everyone gets his own ramekin and no one has to fight over who gets the bigger piece.

Since starting this project, I’ve learned something about sugar: there’s more than one kind. Of course, I always knew there was brown sugar, and dark brown sugar, but I haven’t really gone beyond that sort of basic knowledge of sugar. This week, I discovered demerera sugar and I use it in this recipe.

Categories
Dessert Pumpkin

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

[pinterest]

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

October is my favorite month. Halloween is my favorite holiday and today is the one year anniversary of my recipe blog, StreamingGourmet – The Blog and my culinary videosharing website StreamingGourmet. To celebrate, I’m kicking off a month of daily pumpkin recipe posts. Follow StreamingGourmet on facebook (look to your right) and you won’t miss a single recipe.

Today’s recipe is for a fluffy pumpkin cookie with semi-sweet chocolate chips. Since the recipe contains both baking powder and baking soda, the cookie dough dough puffs up to make a soft, cakey cookie. The interplay between pumpkin pie flavors and the chocolate chips is surprisingly yummy. I think you’ll be seeing a lot of chocolate/pumpkin pairings this month.

Fold in chocolate chips
Fold in chocolate chips

 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies
 
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A fluffy, cakey cookie perfect for a Halloween party.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 36
Ingredients
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ brown sugar
  • ¾ granulated sugar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • pinch freshly ground nutmeg
  • pinch mace
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add pumpkin and beat well. Then add eggs and beat well. Finally add vanilla and beat well.
  3. Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, about ⅓ at a time and mix well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spoon or spatula.
  4. Spoon batter onto cookie sheets that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray or lightly buttered. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let sit for one minute after removing from oven. Then cool on wire racks.

 

 

Ready to bake
Ready to bake
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie
Categories
Dessert Produce Uncategorized Vegetarian

Grilled Peaches with Toasted Almonds

Grilled Peaches with Toasted Almonds and Vanilla Ice Cream
Grilled Peaches with Toasted Almonds and Vanilla Ice Cream

I know, it’s late in the season to do a post about peaches, but I swear, local peaches are still on sale here at Paradise Market, so I didn’t hesitate when the dinner party menu I was using from the Williams-Sonoma Dinner Parties book included this Grilled Peaches dish for dessert. Once again, I adapted the recipe and made it my own.

The method I used for each step of this recipe differed greatly from the one outlined in the Dinner Parties book, because I’m lazy and I like to keep the cleanup as simple as possible. Therefore, instead of using the oven and a cookie sheet to toast the almonds, I just toasted them in a sautée pan and rather than using my gas grill outside to grill the peaches, once again, I whipped out my All-clad non-stick grill pan. During the party, I had just grilled the Halibut, so I actually had to wash the pan between the main course and the dessert course before I could fire it back up, but because it’s a non-stick pan, washing it was a breeze and it was ready for another round of action in no time.

I have to say, the guests at the party went unexpectedly wild about this dessert. None of us were prepared for the peaches to cook all the way through in such a short amount of time, so we all took our first bite a bit tenatively. The peaches only grill for about 6-7 minutes, but they come out soft, warm and sweet – all they way through. Guests also commented enthusiastically about the contrast among textures with the crunch of the almonds, the creamy chill of the ice cream and the warm, soft texture of the peaches. A splash of Balsamic Vinegar lent tang and flavor. One guest, Steve, likes to make a Balsamic reduction for grilled fruit, because then it’s an amazingly sweet addition. See the links to other blogs at the bottom of this post to find out more about how to do that. For me, the Balsamic vinegar was a last minute thought, and I was just glad to have splashed it in.

Brush the peach halves with olive oil for grilling
Brush the peach halves with olive oil for grilling

Grilled Peaches with Toasted Almonds
 
The perfect ending to a summer dinner party.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • 3 large, ripe, yellow peaches, halved and pitted
  • Extra virgin olive oil for brushing on peaches
  • Vanilla ice cream
Instructions
  1. Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds and toast, watching carefully so they don't burn. If the pan has truly had time to heat up, it takes about 2 minutes on the first side and then 1 minute after flipping them. Set almonds aside.
  2. Brush both sides of each peach half lightly with extra virgin olive oil. Place peach halves in the pan, round side down and grill for about 3 minutes. Check one to see if grill marks have appeared. Turn them over and grill on the other side until grill marks appear, about 4 more minutes.
  3. If peaches are large, place one half on each plate. For medium sized peaches, you could plate with two halves. Sprinkle with almonds and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Grilled Peaches recipes from around the Food Blogosphere

Grilled White Peaches Recipe w/honey balsamic glaze & homemade Crème Fraîche from White On Rice Couple

Grilled Peaches & Cream from bell’alimento

Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone and Balsamic Syrup from Closet Cooking

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